RASPUTIN AND THE EMPRESS (1932). Saw this on TMC. Kind of racy bio pic of the Romanovs and their eventual fall. All three Barrymores (John, Ethel, Lionel) are in here and LB is great as the title character. ***

RASPUTIN AND THE EMPRESS (1932). Saw this on TMC. Kind of racy bio pic of the Romanovs and their eventual fall. All three Barrymores (John, Ethel, Lionel) are in here and LB is great as the title character. ***

I didn't even know this film existed. Sounds cool. Who plays Resputin? Lon Chaney Jr?

MARK OF THE VAMPIRE (1935). Some recent discussion on the board and decided to give it another look. SO MANY good things about this-James Wong Howes cinematography is outstanding and some genuinely creepy scenes involving Bela and Carol Borland-are just train wrecked by a ridiculous story, horrid acting (Lionel Barrymore REALLY gets old quick and the "Love interest" couple are beyond annoying), unfunny comic relief , studio interference/cutting and of course, one of the WORST endings ever. *

MARK OF THE VAMPIRE (1935). Some recent discussion on the board and decided to give it another look. SO MANY good things about this-James Wong Howes cinematography is outstanding and some genuinely creepy scenes involving Bela and Carol Borland-are just train wrecked by a ridiculous story, horrid acting (Lionel Barrymore REALLY gets old quick and the "Love interest" couple are beyond annoying), unfunny comic relief , studio interference/cutting and of course, one of the WORST endings ever. *

Taking a peek at the trailer, the cinematography does look great. Considering the talent, it's really too bad they didn't make a sharper script, ditch the outlandish comic relief. I think the root of the story could be a cool modern film.

DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE (1931). For me, the definitive version of the Robert Louis Stevenson novella with impressive camera work for the time and damn good transformation scenes with Hyde looking positively beastial towards the end. A lot of stilted dialogue...all the "Darling!", "Sir" and "How I love You!" bits will have You fidgeting, but stick with it . This was Pre-Code, so it's quite violent and incredibly heavy on the sex stuff; Jekyll is almost panting in his desire to get married and as soon as he becomes Hyde, he goes immediately to find the streetwalker who so captivated Jekyll. Frederic March won an Oscar as the titular character, but for Me the highlight of the film is Miriam, Hopkins. What I've read about her strikes me as a demanding, scene stealing diva, but she is sensational and heartbreaking as Ivy, the Good Time girl whose life quickly becomes a nightmare. ****